by Isobel Harry
GORE BAY—At the recent opening reception for Perry Patterson’s exhibition at the Gore Bay Museum’s Gallery, entitled ‘Abstractions,’ he admits he’s “a little nervous” to show his paintings for the first time, anywhere. Mr. Patterson had never even thought about any kind of artistic expression “until about 10 years ago,” he says. Then, while looking around an art supply store, the Haweater who has “always lived in Gore Bay” suddenly wanted to paint.
The self-taught artist executes his abstractions and collages in acrylics, “with a secret base to make it 3D,” Mr. Patterson explains. “I’m all about texture,” he adds. To enhance the textural feel of his work, he raises the surface of a collage by, for example, transferring a faded photo of a Renaissance angel onto a canvas that looks like the sunwashed plaster wall of a Tuscan villa, complete with trowel marks. ‘Angel on my Mind,’ softly rendered in golden hues, was painted for a grieving friend in remembrance of a beloved family member.
“I tried painting in a studio for six months,” says Mr. Patterson, “but it didn’t work for me. Being outdoors is what inspires me, so I wait for a sunny, windless day and I paint on my deck out back of my apartment.”
‘Crimson Symphony,’ painted while listening to the Jersey Boys, is a thickly swirling study in darkest black-cherry red across which a pure white sound wave pulses. “That’s the rhythm,” he explains of the line, “and the red is the beat. It was the sound of the music that inspired me.”
‘Outta This World’ is “just experimenting,” notes the artist, who used spray paint to depict vivid planets in a black sky filled with galaxies. Mr. Patterson takes pains to detail his process, seemingly still amazed at how much fun can be had painting. “Ideas change. I often get a vision of what I want to paint, but it rarely turns out that way. Ultimately, I want to be satisfied with what I’ve done when it’s finished.”
It’s then that he steps back, insisting that he cannot describe his paintings. “It’s the people viewing the paintings who must interpret them,” he says, pointing to a series entitled ‘Hidden People’ that is attracting close attention. “Some people see animals” hidden in the dripping layers of paint, he says, while “others see humans. Some see both. I like to hear about what they are seeing, that’s what’s important.”
Over in the main gallery, Heather Young’s fine art seems to glow on the walls, compelling viewers to take a closer look. The lifelong artist works in her airy studio, HY Creates, in the Harbour Centre at the Gore Bay Marina, alongside several other artisans in the building who produce and sell their work there year-round.
Upon entering the gallery, the eye is drawn to the central piece of Ms. Young’s ‘Reflections’ exhibition: a large flaming-red maple leaf on a fiery gold background, entitled ‘The Leaf – Canada’s 150.’ The painting, says the artist, “represents Canadians’ energy. I wanted the fire and heat – it would not be the same on the usual white background.” The imaginative work is painted on wood in a square basswood frame, “for the stability of the square shape,” says Ms. Young. “Painting in a square is more of a challenge to balance the composition.”
Born in Alberta but with deep roots in the Island’s Youngs of Barrie Island and Ainslies of Elizabeth Bay, Heather Young spent many summers on Manitoulin. She was given inks and paints as a child by her parents, loved art classes in school and “knew” from an early age that she wanted to draw and paint. “I had very fine fine art teachers in high school and studied sculpture, painting, ceramics. The arts were encouraged at school and at home.” After attending schools in Toronto, Heather moved permanently to the Island in her twenties.
Ms. Young “decided to try to master acrylics, pen and ink, gouache. To be good, you have to dedicate yourself to hard work, to develop and refine your skills.”
Among the paintings can be spotted recurring themes of animals and plants, such as ‘Sheep Flock’ on paper in acrylic with pen and ink. A large, affecting piece is ‘In the Spirit of Cecil the Lion,’ painted to honour the 13-year-old Zimbabwe park lion that was cruelly hunted for sport. The lifelike black-fringed golden mane, the piercing amber eyes invite the viewer to consider Cecil’s “lion-ness.” “I’m trying to paint the soul of a living thing,” says the artist who also displays finely worked birds and a lovely patch of delphiniums.
There are domestic themes, too: a giant orange carrot on a green-checked tablecloth is a giddy ode to a common veg. A row of old cutlery hangs from a rack. Then there are several beautiful landscapes painted in Ms. Young’s distinctive style of acrylic and pen and ink, such as ‘Manitoulin Farm, Gordon Township,’ a pasture behind an ancient rail fence with tiny cows grazing in the distance. Not for this artist the sunny perfect landscapes; hers are rooted in the Earth’s solidity, its deep dark browns and greens, its rocky ground and weathered cedar posts.
Heather Young’s political passions are on view in ‘RIP Allan Kurdi’ – “social comment on the news of the day” – her visceral vision of “refugees trying to get to the rainbow.” And in ‘Paris November 13,’ the French flag centered by a “bloody hand of death.” Adds the artist, “These paintings make people pause and think.”
The director of the Gore Bay Museum, Nicole Weppler, who curated both ‘Reflections’ and ‘Abstractions’ for the Gallery, is pleased with the juxtaposition of artists for this year’s show. “There’s a freshness about these artists. Perry plays with things, he’s very sensitive to patterns. Heather is a very accomplished artist who understands animals to her soul; her work is more immediately felt while Perry’s abstractions require more thought in the viewing. The exhibitions are side by side, but they don’t compete. Each is totally different from the other.”
‘Abstractions’ and ‘Reflections’ is on until September 30.
Gore Bay Museum, 12 Dawson St, Gore Bay. Tel: 705 282 2040
www.gorebaymuseum.com gorebaymuseum@gmail.com
Hours: Mon-Sat 10-4; Sun 2-4. Admission: Children/Students under 15 $2; Seniors $3; Adults $4.
